The Huntington Arts Council’s is proud to present a NEW Professional Development Series created for the community, by the community. Based on the feedback of two HAC surveys, this PD program offers FREE entrepreneurial workshops focusing on identity, community engagement and finance for Long Island based artists and organizations looking to strengthen their practice and programs.
Identifying Your Brand and Effective Marketing
Diane Palma & Maria Misko of digho
Thursday, June 15, 2023, 4:00-6:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here
Your logo is the face of your business when yours isn’t available. Often it is your first impression and represents what your business offers. If your logo speaks the wrong message or attracts the wrong market you might need to reevaluate your logo and possibly brand. Without a strong relevant logo you are removing your potential footprint in the industry world. We will also be covering the best way to plan your marketing across both digital and print platforms. This information session will help with new creative ideas, sticking to your brand, saving your time and using the correct materials and platforms. This workshop includes us presenting best practices that we have gathered while helping their clients as well as an open discussion with participants.
Maria has a BFA in Digital Arts and Design from Long Island University and MFA in Art Administration with a minor in Restoration from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She completed her entire minor in Venice, Italy, with first hand experience on world famous art. Maria is certificated as a Color Specialist, she is an expert in advising companies on their color palette.
She started her career at the New York Post in the pre-press department and transitioned to be creative supervisor at Newsday. This experience has given Maria the knowledge and organizational skills to launch digho with her best friend, Diane Palma. She is frequently asked to sit on panels for seminars and workshops as the branding expert.
In 2010, Maria started digho PAURA, an art club with creative support and inspiration.
Maria is on the advisory board of Life is Music, Music is Life and on the board of Art League of Long Island She co-chairs the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce Membership committee, chairs the Education and Resource committee, and is an active ambassador for the chamber.
Maria also owns Kinetic Discs, a sports accessory company, with her husband since 2019.
After Diane’s first Photoshop class she knew she would wind up in the art field. In a conceptual art class at Long Island University CW Post, the idea of digho began with an immediate connection to her now business partner. After graduating from CW Post with a BFA in Digital Art and Design in 2003, she was accepted into Pratt Institute where she received her MS in Communication Design. Immediately following her final semester she was promoted into the
Creative Department at Newsday and worked as a part of their art team for the next five years. The following 13 years, digho has been an ever growing, ever changing experience of art, graphic design, entrepreneurship and community member.
Local involvement and awards include Member/mentee of the Moxxie Networking Group from 2011-2014, Honoree of Celebrate Long Island’s Young Professionals in 2011, Leadership Huntington Foundation Class of 2016, Co-Chair of the Young Professionals committee from 2016-19 as well as a Board Member of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce since 2016 and currently sits on the Executive Board. Most recently she Founded and CoChairs the Arts & Experiences Committee which spearheaded the Village wide PUBlic Art Crawl through the Chamber. Last year Diane and Maria were honorees at the 1st Annual Culture Gala.
Her claim to fame was being an Installer for the NYC art installation, The Gates, by world famous artists Christo and Jeanne Claude in 2005.
Nonprofit/Grant Resources Available at the Huntington Public Library
Presented by Suzy Bloom
May 31, 2023, 4:00PM – 6:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here
The Huntington Public Library provides access to a variety of resources for artists and nonprofit organizations searching for funding opportunities and enhancing their creativity. In this session, Reference Librarian Suzy Bloom, will review the Foundation Directory and Guidestar databases and other grant, proposal writing and nonprofit start up resources provided by Candid, formerly known as the Foundation Center. Other library services including online research databases, free museum passes and gallery space to showcase your work will be discussed.
Suzy Bloom is a librarian in the Adult and Reference Service department and the Foundation Collection Supervisor at the Huntington Public Library. She helps train individuals and nonprofit organizations on using Candid’s Foundation Directory databases. Previously she worked as a news librarian for People and Time magazine.
“Finance in the Arts”
Presented by Melissa Bertoncini,
May 11, 2023, 4:00PM – 6:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here.
Melissa Bertoncini, owner of In The Black MGMT will lead a seminar focusing on the basics of accounting and its real life application. Some topics discussed will be budgeting as a tool for planning, cash flow, and other financial aspects of business.
Melissa Bertoncini is a finance veteran with over two decades of experience. She has spent her career working with various creative businesses including many artists of different disciplines and art galleries. She earned a Bachelors of Arts in Economics at SUNY Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY) and Sussex University (Brighton, England). She has taken her educational foundation and combined it with her experience to form methods tailor made to help small businesses hone in on their good (and bad) habits in turn, making their businesses more profitable.
Previous Professional Development Sessions
“The Basics of Contracts for Creatives”
Presented by Rosemarie Tully, Esq.
February 15, 2023, 5:00PM – 7:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here.
In this session, Attorney Rosemarie Tully will discuss the importance of having a written contract for creative works. She will cover basic copyright concepts and key elements of protecting and contracting for your work as an individual artist, teaching artist or organization. Questions are encouraged to expand the discussion.
Rosemarie Tully is a transactional attorney focusing on matters involving music, independent film, original series production, and copyright, as well as corporate/business organization and operation. She represents authors, composers, screenwriters, producers, record labels, artists, actors, sound studios, and production companies.
Involved in bar associations and the community, Rosemarie is a past chair of the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and a member of its Continuing Legal Education Committee; a past Director of the Suffolk County Bar Association; a member of New York Women in Film and Television; and a speaker at industry, business and community events. She is a Co-Editor of Siegel on Entertainment Law, a NYSBA publication, and has taught as an adjunct professor of Entertainment Law at Touro Law Center (Long Island, New York). Recently she co-produced a Short Film that garnered attention at the 2022 Tribeca Festival and enjoys the collaborative film making process. www.tullylaw.com
“Creative Visa Options for Creative Workers: A Discussion about U.S. Immigration Paths for Artists, Entertainers, Athletes, and Entrepreneurs”
Presented by Michael Cataliotti, Esq.
February 1, 2023, 5:00PM – 7:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here.
In this session, Michael Cataliotti will lead a discussion about the various visa options available to creative workers within the U.S. Talking points will range from the O-1 visa (commonly referred to as the “artist visa”), P-1, and Q, to the green card categories of EB-1A and EB-2 National Interest Waiver. Come with any questions you may have, whether about these visas or others, and Michael will work through each issue with you and the group collectively, albeit, preserving confidentiality when and where appropriate.
Michael Cataliotti, Esq. is the Principal at Cataliotti Law P.C., a boutique immigration law practice working with international artists, entertainers, athletes, entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, academics, executives, and more, across a variety of industries and disciplines, ranging from television, film, fashion, and finance, to AI/ML, sciences, journalism, architecture, and everything in between. He has worked with and advised businesses from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, as well as prominent athletes, artists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs and international media conglomerates. www.cataliottilaw.com
Crafting a Career You Love in 2023
Presented by Suzanne Paulinski
January 11th 2023, 4:00PM – 6:00PM
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here.
Join Suz from The Rock/Star Advocate as we get crystal clear on a vision for your career in 2023 and design manageable goal posts that make that vision achievable no matter what life has in store.
Presenter: Suzanne Paulinski is a growth mindset and productivity coach for creative professionals. As the founder of The Rock/Star Advocate, she helps them reach their goals with custom goal-setting and time management solutions. With a B.S. in Music Industry and a Master’s in Psychology, while finishing a second Master’s in Social Work, Suzanne guides her clients to clarity on their next steps while coaching them on maintaining a healthy work/life balance. She published her first book, The Rock/Star Life Planner, as a tool for creatives to find focus in their daily lives by reflecting on their goals weekly and monthly, (www.therockstaradvocate.com/planner).
When she’s not binging Law & Order episodes at home with her dog, she can be found working with clients or publishing her productivity tips in her many guest posts for Thrive, Rising Tide, Sonicbids, Tunecore, and Soundfly. Suzanne has also shared her lessons learned in over 120 episodes of her weekly podcast, the Redefine the Hustle Podcast (formally The MusicPreneur Mindset Podcast) now on YouTube and all podcast streaming platforms.
Community Outreach and Engagement: What Is It and How to Get Started
Presented by Jess Frost
December 21, 2022, 4:00PM – 6:00PM
Huntington Arts Council & Online
Registration is required
Choose between the following attendance options: in person, online or receive a recording, click here.
Leaders from The Arts Center at Duck Creek will share the origin story of this grassroots not for profit arts organization based in Springs, East Hampton. They will illustrate how its culture and programming have evolved and expanded to serve their community more effectively.
Jess Frost is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Arts Center at Duck Creek in East Hampton, NY. She was formerly the Associate Curator of the Permanent Collection at Guild Hall Museum, where she organized several exhibitions, including Please Send To: Ray Johnson in 2018. Jess is one of six members of The Victory Garden Collective, a group of women artists united to create publicly-engaged art projects that aim to “initiate conversation and action.” The collective has made works that unite public and private spheres, including Miss 2017, a set of printed suffragette style sashes made free for protestors at the 2017 Women’s March.
The sashes are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection, and were exhibited in “Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints: Revolution, Resistance, and Activism,” July 29, 2021-January 17, 2022.
Social Media Marketing
Presented by Amber Calderon
November 30, 2022, 4:00PM -6:00PM
Huntington Arts Council & Online
Registration is required.
Choose between the following attendance options; in person, online, or receive a recording, click here
Attendees will learn the basics of what social media marketing is, break down what the correct algorithm is, and how to take advantage of the tools/updates of each social platform. During the session, attendees will practice different exercises to engage with their audience.
Nov. 30th Presenter: Amber Calderon is a business management major with a distinguished resume of 5+ years of experience in hospitality, community events, and business event production.
As the CEO/Founder of Tings Talk, she has created, supported, and connected with over 50+ local creatives and small business owners on Long Island. Her experience within the event planning industry has driven her passion to shift and focus her attention on advocating for all women within the community.
In 2021, she created a women empowerment platform known as “Tings Talk”, to support and connect women from all diverse backgrounds. Throughout her startup year, she has partnered and worked with numerous women by highlighting their passions through strategic planning with local small businesses and connecting them with local female artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs.
Creating concepts from networking mixers, hosting panel talks, drags shows, local village tours, vendors markets, health and wellness classes, and more! Being able to provide opportunities for various female entrepreneurs, creatives and small business owners is essential to growing and building up the women who are a part of the ‘Tings Talk’ community.
To learn more about Tings Talk, visit the website to check out their journey, recap photos, and upcoming events on Long Island: https://www.tings-talk.com/
Who Am I to You? Identifying Your Brand to Effectively Reach Your Goals + Build an Audience
Presented by Suzanne Paulinski
October 26, 2022, 4:00PM -6:00PM
Huntington Arts Council & Zoom
In this first session on October 26, attendees learned how to get clear on their brand identity and create consistent messaging to effectively grow their audience, raise funding, and reach their career goals with ease.
Oct. 26th Presenter: Suzanne Paulinski. Suzanne is a growth mindset and productivity coach for creative professionals. As the founder of The Rock/Star Advocate, she helps them reach their goals with custom goal-setting and time management solutions. With a B.S. in Music Industry and a Master’s in Psychology, while finishing a second Master’s in Social Work, Suzanne guides her clients to clarity on their next steps while coaching them on maintaining a healthy work/life balance. She published her first book, The Rock/Star Life Planner, as a tool for creatives to find focus in their daily lives by reflecting on their goals weekly and monthly, (www.therockstaradvocate.com/planner).
When she’s not binging Law & Order episodes at home with her dog, she can be found working with clients or publishing her productivity tips in her many guest posts for Thrive, Rising Tide, Sonicbids, Tunecore, and Soundfly. Suzanne has also shared her lessons learned in over 120 episodes of her weekly podcast, the Redefine the Hustle Podcast (formally The MusicPreneur Mindset Podcast) now on YouTube and all podcast streaming platforms.
The FREE monthly series of workshops will be presented in a hybrid (in person/online) format. There will also be an option to receive a recording of the presentation for those who may not be able to attend day of. In-person space is limited and registration will be required.
Future topics will include: marketing, community engagement, business administration, legal, finance, and funding. For more information on upcoming PD workshops visit this page. Questions, please contact Sarah McCann at smccann@huntingtonarts.org
This Professional Development Series is made possible in part with funds from Cataliotti Law and the Statewide Community Regrants – Upstate / Long Island Recovery Initiative of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.